Scoop attachment for fork lift truck



March 3; 1970. I R. R. LOVE T 3, 8,

sdooP ATTACHMENT FOR FORK LIFT TRUCK- Original Filed June 7, 1 966 4 Shets-Sheet 1 INVENTOR.

RICHARD R. LOVE BYW/ monusvs.

" March 3, 1970 R41. Lbv 3,498,489

. SCOOP mum FOR FORK LIFT TRUCK Original Filed June 7, i966 Y 4 Sheets-Sheet 2 FIG. 2

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INVENTOR. momma R. LOVE I BY ATTORNEYS.

March 3, 1970 -R. R. LOVE U SCOOP- ATTACHMENT FOR FORK LIFT TRUCK 4 Sheets-sheaf. 5

Original Filed June 7 1966 FIG. 5

"lflX/ENTOR. RICHARD R. LOVE ATTORNEYS.

' March 3, 1970 I R. R. LOVE 3,

SCOOP ATTACHMENT FOR FORK LIFT TRUCK 7 Original Filed June '7, 4 Sheets-Sheet 4 lnnlll Mum;

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3 l hll United States Patent 3,498,489 SCOOP ATTACHMENT FOR FORK LIFT TRUCK Richard R. Love, Box 468, Buhl, Idaho 83316 Continuation of application Ser. No. 555,884, June 7, 1966. This application July 23, 1968, Ser. No. 749,562

. Int. Cl. B66f 9/16 US. Cl. 214-620 6 Claims ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE A material handlingvehicle of the fork lift truck type having a scoop mounted on the fork members. The scoop is pivotally connected to a pair of housing elements that in turn receive the tines of the fork of the truck and a hydraulic cylinder is carried by the housing elements and pivotally connected to the scoop for pivotally moving the scoop with respect to the housing elements. This abstract is neither intended to define the invention of the applicaion which, of course, is measured by the claims, nor is it intended to be limiting as to the scope of the invention in any way.

This application is a continuation of application Ser. No. 555,884, filed June 7, 1966, now abandoned.

The conventional fork lift truck has proven to be extremely versatile in its use due in no small measure to its maneuverability while transporting a load. In addition, the manner in which the mast of the truck may be tilted forwardly or rearwardly while at the same time still permitting the tines of the fork to be raised and lowered has resulted in said vehicle being employed in various and sundry operations. Heretofore, the mounting of a scoop or the like upon the fork member or upon the elevator carriage of a fork lift truck has usually been such that it was necessary to provide some means to effect a pivoting or rotation of the scoop about a horizontal axis to insure the retention within the scoop of the material being transported or moved from one point to another. This was particularly true if the material within the scoop was of such a nature as to be loose and readily fiowable, such as sand, grain or the like.

' One of the objects of the present invention is to provide a fork lift truck having mounted thereon in a fixed position a scoop with an open forward end for collecting and transporting material that is substantially of the nonflowing type.

Another object is to provide a fork lift truck having a scoop formed with spaced channel members for receiving the tines of the fork to permit the scoop to be readily mounted upon or removed from the truck.

A further object is to provide a fork lift truck having a scoop detachably mounted thereon with means afiixed to said scoop that maintains the bottom of the scoop in an inclined plane during the loading thereof.

Still another object is to provide a fork lift truck with a scoop having a toe plate at the forward open end with runner members mounted on the bottom of the scoop to maintain the toe plate in proper ground engaging position during the loading of the scoop.

Further objects are to provide a scoop for a fork lift truck which is rugged and durable, economical of manufacture and susceptible of various uses.

Other objects and advantages, more or less ancillary to the foregoing, in the manner in which all of the various objects are realized, will appear in the following description, which when considered in connection with the accompanying drawings, sets forth the preferred embodiment of the invention.

Referring to the drawings wherein the preferred embodiment is shown:

FIGURE 1 is a side elevational view of a portion of the front end of a fork lift truck with the scoop of the present invention mounted thereon and showing same in full lines in its loading position and in broken lines in its carrying position;

FIGURE 2 is a plan view, partly in section, of the scoop of the present invention;

FIGURE 3 is a vertical sectional view of a fragmentary portion of the scoop of the present invention, the view being taken on the line 3-3 of FIGURE 2;

FIGURE 4 is a vertical sectional view of the scoop of the present invention mounted on a fork lift truck, the front end portion of which is shown in broken lines, the view being taken on the line 4-4 of FIGURE 3;

FIGURE 5 is a vertical sectional view of a fragmentary portion of the scoop of the present invention, the view being taken on the line 55 of FIGURE 2;

FIGURE 6 is a side elevational view of the scoop of the present invention mounted on and carried by a fork lift truck and showing the scoop in one position for carrying a load therein; and

FIGURE 7 is a view similar to FIGURE 6 but showing the scoop in position for dumping the material or contents contained therein.

Referring to FIGURE 1, there is shown the front end portion of a conventional fork lift truck consisting of a body 10 and one wheel 11 of the customary front pair which is mounted for rotative movement upon an axle 12. The axle 12 also has pivotally mounted thereupon a pair of forwardly projecting members 14, only one of which is shown, that have secured thereto a vertically extending mast or upright 15. The mast or upright 15 has connected thereto a rod 16 that is actuated by a conventional hydraulic piston and cylinder combination, not shown, for moving the mast or upright about its pivotal connection with the axle 12 either toward or away from the body of the truck. The mast or upright also has mountedthereon a conventional carriage or elevator 17, which may have connected thereto conventional chains and sprockets or hydraulic pistons and cylinders, not shown, for moving the carriage or elevator up and downwardly on the mast or upright in the customary manner. The carriage 17 is provided with the usual pair of fork members, only one of which is shown in dotted lines in FIGURE 1, and which fork members are of the conventional type consisting of a vertically extending shank portion 18 and a horizontally extending tine portion 19.

The tines 19 have mounted thereon a scoop-like member 22 which is preferably of a rectangular or box-like configuration. The scoop includes a generally flat bottom plate 23, FIGURE 2, which is of rectangular configuration and having connected thereto or formed integrally therewith a vertically extending rear wall 24 which in turn has secured thereto a forwardly extending top wall 25 which is of such a size as to overlie only a portion of the bottom plate 23. The scoop 22 is formed with side or end walls 26 which are secured by any suitable means to the bottom plate 23, the rear wall 24, and the top wall 25 so as to provide a rigid box-like structure. The bottom plate 23 has secured to its lower or outer surface, adjacent its forward edge, a plurality of housing or casing members 28 which are generally of tubular configuration and arranged in aligned spaced relation with one another while extending substantially from one side wall 26 to the other side wall 26 of the scoop 22. The housing or casing members 28 have extending therethrough a shaft 29 which has mounted thereon a pair of spaced bearing elements or members 30, which are of the same general size and shape as the casing members 28 and are so positioned on the shaft 29 as to be interposed between adjacent casing members 28. The bearing elements 30 have secured thereto or formed integrally therewith a channelshaped housir1 g 31 which project re arwardly of the SFQ P 22 beneath the bottom plate'23 and terminate in open" 23 are formed with an indentation or recess 35, FIGURES 2 and 5, for the reception of a hydraulic cylinder 36. The lower end portion of the cylinder 36 is provided with a pair of trunnions 37 which are supported or mounted in the portion of "the rear wall 24 defining the recess 35 so that the cylinder 36 is connected to the scoop 22. The cylinder 36 has projecting from the lower end thereof a conventional piston rod 38 which terminates at its free end in a horizontally disposed sleeve 39, FIGURE 5, that is mounted upon the bracing rod 34 for rotative or pivotal movement with respect thereto.

The forward end of the bottom plate 23 of the scoop 22 is provided with a bit or toe plate structure which not only adds strength and rigidity to the forward end of the scoop but is so positioned with respect to the plate 23 as to insure the movement of the material into the scoop member during the loading operation. As shown in FIGURES 2 and 3, a top plate member 42 has its rear end portion overlying the forward end portion of the bottom plate 23 and same may be secured to the upper surface of the bottom plate 23 by any suitable means, such as welding. The top plate member 42 is inclined upwardly at a slight angle with respect to the upper surface of the bottom plate 23 as clearly shown in FIGURE 3. A base member is positioned beneath the forward end portion of the bottom plate 23 and said base member is secured to the forward edge of the bottom plate 23 as well as the housing or casing member 28 by any suitable means such as welding. The base member 43 is inclined upwardly with respect to the bottom plate 23 at a greater angle than the top plate member 42 so that the forward edge of the top plate member and the base member are brought into engagement with one another and same are secured together by any suitable means. Such an arrangement materially increases the strength and rigidity of the forward end of the scoop 22 while at the same time providing for a strong toe plate or bit structure for the mouth of the scoop 22. It is to be noted that the side walls 26 are of such a length as to terminate at the end or juncture of the top plate member 42 with the base member 43 so that the entire bottom area of the scoop 22, as defined by the bottom plate 23, the top plate member 42 and base member 43, is enclosed within the side walls 26 thereby further adding to the rigidity of the scoop as a unit structure.

The channel-shaped housing elements 31 have s cured to the lower surface thereof runners or support members 44. The forward end of the runners 44 are secured to the channel elements adjacent the bearing elements 30 by any suitable means, such as welding, while the rear end portions of said runners are provided with vertically extending braces 45 that in turn are secured to the rear end portions of the channel elements 31 so that said runners are mounted on and carried by said channel-shaped housing elements in an angular relationship therewith. It is to be noted that the angular relationship between the channel-shaped housing elements 31 and the runners 44 is such that the runners are positioned in substantially the same plane as the base member 43 so that for all intents and purposes the runners 44 would tend to constitute continuations or extensions of the base member 43. This arrangement tends to insure that when the runners 44 are in engagement with the ground or Whatever surface the scoop is moving over, the base member 43 will also be in engagement with said surface to insure the movement of the material over the toe plate or bit structure of the scoop and onto the bottom plate 23.

In its non-use position, the scoop 22 is normally supported upon the runners 44 and'the base member 43 as illustrated in FIGURE 4. Thus, when the scoop is to be mounted upon a fork lift truck, the mast or upright 15 may be inclined slightly forward by means of the rod 16 and the elevator carriage 17 moved a short distance up said mast so as to bring the tines 19 into alignment with the channel-shaped housng elements 31 where, upon the continued forward movement of the truck, the times 19 will move into saidchannel-shaped housing elements 31 and same duly secured therein by meansof bolts 46 that are inserted through suitable apertures provided in the open end portions 32 of said channel-shaped housing elements, FIGURE 2." The hydraulic cylinder 36 is provided adjacent its upper and lower ends with conventional inlet and outlet ports, not shown, which in turn are connected to a suitable source of fluid under pressure for the purpose of extending and retracting the cylinder 36 with respect to the piston rod 38. With the scoop so mounted upon the tines of the fork member and the cylinder 36 connected to a customary source of fluid power, the fork lift truck may be advanced over a surface with the runners 44 and bottom platemember 43 also moving over said surface in the manner as shown in full lines in FIG- URE 1 so as to move the forward edge of the top plate member 42 and base member 43. respectively into the material that is to be loaded within the scoop 22. While the runners 44 and base member 43 are angularly disposed with respect to the bottom plate 23 of the scoop member 22, it is to be noted that the top plate member 42 is so mounted on the forward edge of the bottom plate 23 as to 'preesnt a surfaceo rarea that is substantialy fiat yet the greater portion of the bottom plate 23 is disposed at an obtuse angle with respect to the top plate member 42. This angular relationship between the top plate member 42 and bottom plate 23 tends to enhance and insure the ready en,- trance of the material into the'scoop while at the same time, the angular relationship of the two plate members tends to aid in the retention of the material Within the scoop. In other Words, the angular inclination of the bot tom plate 23 with respect to the runners 44 and base member 43 would tend to impede or retard the movement of the material into the scoop and at the same time, might very readily cause a counter reaction or movement of the material within the scoop by having the material moved down the inclined bottom plate 23. However, by having the top plate member 42 positioned in such a manner that it is substantially flat or horizontal when the runners 44 and base member 43 are in engagement with the ground, the material will move over the top plate member 42 and up the inclined bottom plate 23 upon the continued forward movement of the fork lift truck and scoop 22 so that the angular relationship between the bottom plate 23 and top plate member 42 tends to insure the retention of the material within the scoop. While the scoop of the present invention is particularly adaptable for the removal of snow from the ground or a similar surface, it is to be noted that said scoop may be readily used to effect the collecting and removal of other types of material whether said material is of the free flowing type or not. 7

With the scoop loaded, the elevator carriage 17 may then be raised by conventional means on the mast or upright 15 and said mast may be moved to the vertical position as shown in FIGURE 6 or to the dotted line position as shown in FIGURE 1 for the purpose of transporting the material within the scoop to a point where said material is to be discharged. In order to discharge the material from the scoop 22, fluid is introduced into the hydraulic cylinder 36 for the purpose of elevating the rear end portion of the scoop member by means of the trunnions 37 and pivoting the forward end of the scoop about the shaft 29 to the position as shown in FIGURE 7 Wherein the contents of said scoop member may be readily-discharged therefrom. In the eventthat it becomes desirable to incline the scoop at a greater angle than that as shown in FIGURE 7, the mast may be tilted forward a slight distance about its pivotal connection with the axle 12 of the fork lift truck and thus, aid in the discharge of the material from said scoop. It is to be noted that the shaft 29 in conjunction with the elements and members 28 and 30 constitutes a hinge structure for pivoting the scoop member 22 including the top plate member 42 and base member 43 about said shaft 29.

Although the foregoing description is necessarily of a detailed character, in order that the invention may be completely set forth, it is to be understood that the specific terminology is not intended to be restrictive or confining and that various rearrangments of parts and modifications of detail may be resorted to without departing from the scope or spirit of the invention.

I claim:

1. An attachment for a fork lift truck provided with a pivotally mounted mast having a reciprocatory elevator with a plurality of forwardly extending tines comprising a scoop having a bottom plate with rear and side walls connected thereto, a pair of spaced housing elements positioned beneath said bottom plate, means secured to and extending across the ends of said housing elements and projecting transversely of the longitudinal axis of said housing elements, said means connected to said bottom plate at spaced points for pivotally connecting said bottom plate to said housing elements, said housing elements having said tines positioned therein for mounting said scoop upon said truck and a cylinder connected to said rear wall and a rod interposed between and connected to the other end of said housing elements with a piston rod projecting from said cylinder and pivotally connecting to said rod.

2. An attachment for a fork lift truck provided with a pivotally mounted mast having a reciprocatory elevator with a plurality of forwardly extending tines comprising a scoop having a bottom plate with rear and side walls connected thereto, a pair of spaced housing elements positioned beneath said bottom plate, means secured to the ends of said housing elements and extending transversely of the longitudinal axis of said housing elements, said means connected to said bottom plate at spaced points for pivotally connecting said bottom plate to said housing elements, said housing elements having said tines positioned therein for mounting said scoop upon said truck, means carried by said housing elements and pivotally connected to said rear wall for moving said scoop with respect to said housing elements, said first mentioned means including tubular bearing members, said bottom plate having a plurality of spaced casing members afiixed thereto in axially aligned relation with said bearing members being interposed between adjacent casing members and a shaft extending through said bearing members and easing members.

3. An attachment for a fork lift truck provided with a pivotally mounted mast having a reciprocatory elevator with a plurality of forwardly extending tines comprising a scoop having a bottom plate with rear and side walls connected thereto, a pair of spaced housing elements positioned beneath said bottom plate, means secured to the ends of said housing elements and extending transversely of the longitudinal axis of said housing elements, said means connected to said bottom plate at spaced points for pivotally connecting said bottom plate to said housing elements, said housing elements having said tines positioned therein for mounting said scoop upon said truck, means carried by said housing elements and pivotally connected to said rear wall for moving said scoop with respect to said housing elements, said bottom plate having secured to its surface adjacent its forward end a top plate member, said top platemember being positioned in angular relationship with said bottom plate and projecting beyond the forward edge of said bottom plate, said bottom plate and top plate member defining an obtuse angle therebetween.

4. An attachment for a fork lift truck provided with a pivotally mounted mast having a reciprocatory elevator with a plurality of forwardly extending tines comprising a scoop having a bottom plate with rear and side walls connected thereto, a pair of spaced housing elements positioned beneath said bottom plate, means secured to the ends of said housing elements and extending transversely of the longitudinal axis of said housing elements, said means connected to said bottom plate at spaced points for pivotally connecting said bottom plate to said housing elements, said housing elements having said tines positioned therein for mounting said scoop upon said truck, means carried by said housing elements and pivotally connected to said rear wall for moving said scoop with respect to said housing elements, each of said housing elements being provided with a depending angularly disposed ground engaging runner for maintaining said bottom plate in an inclined position during the loading of said scoop.

5. An attachment as set forth in claim 2 wherein said casing members are mounted on the lower surface of said bottom plate, a top plate member afiixed to the upper surface of said bottom plate and arranged to project beyond the forward edge of said bottom plate, a base member affixed to said casing members and the forward edge of said bottom plate and arranged to project beneath said top plate member, said base member and a top plate member having their forward edges secured together and defining a bit for the bottom plate of said scoop.

6. An attachment as set forth in claim 5 wherein each of said housing elements are provided with a depending runner, said runners being secured to said housing elements in angular relationship therewith and arranged to lie in the same plane as said base member.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,925,296 9/1933 Barrett 298-17 2,482,692 9/1949 Quales 214121 3,283,933 11/1966 Vanderwal 214-620 GERALD M. FORLENZA, Primary Examiner GEORGE F. ABRAHAM, Assistant Examiner US. Cl. X.R. 214660, 701 

